'Makeover' family gives thanks

CRAWFORD — They barely got three hours' worth of sleep after being up late Thursday exploring their new home.

BY MICHAEL RANDALL

CRAWFORD — They barely got three hours' worth of sleep after being up late Thursday exploring their new home.

But the Korpai family was all smiles as they faced the local media Friday morning to talk about their "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" experience.

Their old home was knocked down and a new one built, all in a week, for the ABC-TV show. Hearthstone Contracting of Washingtonville led an army of about 2,500 local contractors, skilled laborers and volunteers, who worked along with the show's designers to make it all happen.

"It's so much more than what we expected," said Jimmy Korpai after he and his wife, Darlene, daughter, Hailey, 5, and 1-year-old son, Hudson, had a chance to look the place over again, this time in the sunlight.

The home was specially designed to give Hailey, who was born with a form of dwarfism, a more independent life where she can turn lights on and off, use the sink, or bake on her own.

They can't talk too specifically about what's inside until the show airs (possibly in late October or early November; even the family doesn't know for sure yet).

But Jimmy Korpai said things like placing light switches where Hailey can reach them were done very imaginatively.

"The little touches Hearthstone put in are amazing," added Joe Zrinski, district director of Little People of America, who was present for the final stages of construction. Many little people volunteered on the project.

The Korpais run the New York chapter of LPA, and the new home includes a meeting area for the group, which tries to erase misconceptions and educate people about dwarfism.